Rise of the Sorceresses
by Sorceress Eternity
Summary: A fanfic to the original japanese FF3 game that was never released in america. Rated T just to be safe.
1. Prologue

A/N: This fic goes with the game Final Fantasy 3.

Disclaimer: All characters that are featured here, unless otherwise stated by me, are owned by Square Soft (Enix). Snowe and Ultimaticus belong to me.Prologue

**Prologue**

I ran as fast as I could because I was being chased in an empty, snow-covered meadow. My simple black dress trailed behind me on the cold ground as I ran away from my pursuer. I looked behind my shoulder, only to see him closing in on me. I turned my gaze ahead of me as I concentrated on outrunning him and getting to the safety of the town. I knew he would stop chasing me if I only got to the city in time. I could hear the footsteps right behind me as his boots caused the snow to crunch beneath them.

He tackled me from behind which made he and I fall together into the snow. "Ultimaticus!" I laughed. "Get off me, the ground's cold!"

I struggled to turn onto my back and gave a glare to my long time boyfriend. Ultimaticus laughed, leaned down and gave me a peck on the lips. "No," he answered.

"Come on, it's _freezing_!" I complained.

"You should have thought of that before you took my favorite cloak," he grinned.

"Okay, I will give you the cloak back if you let me up!" I promised.

"In that case..." he stood, extended his hand and helped me to stand. I untied his brown cloak from around my waist and handed it to him. He, in turn, shook the cloak out and wrapped it around my shoulders. I couldn't help but stare into his crimson eyes, they were so mesmerizing. I ran my hands through his short black hair and leaned into his arms. "I love you so much Snowe."

"I love you too Ultimaticus," I replied.

"What possessed you to take my cloak in the first place?" he asked me.

I turned my eyes back to his face and seen his smirk. "I saw that girl touching you and it made me jealous," I confessed.

"Yeah," Ultimaticus laughed. "That girl is obsessed with me, she's so annoying. But..." he smiled, "you are the only girl for me and I promise you this."

All of a sudden, the ground beneath us begins to shake. Ultimaticus helped me keep my balance as he and I drop to our knees to keep from falling. As sudden as the earthquake starts, it stops. "W-what happened?" I asked.

"I do not know...let's get back to Salomia and make sure the city is still in one piece," Ultimaticus suggests. I nodded in agreement.


	2. Disappearance

A/N: Nyu in this story equals Hell. Salomia is the future Mysidia. Baeilg is the future Balamb Town. Dolhc is the future Deling. Flei is the future Esthar. Yeruta is on the future Trabian Continent (near Salomia).

Disclaimer: Emerah belongs to me.

**Chapter 1: Disappearance**

As soon as we got back to Salomia, we went straight to the Prophetess Emerah to see what was going on.

"I see the earth...opening up...in the near future...Demons from Nyu...challenging the world...for dominance," Emerah started.

"Demons?" Ultimaticus asked.

"Yes...and I see...their leader...going against..." Emerah stopped speaking.

"Going against what?" I asked.

Emerah's eyes fluttered as she came out of her trance. "I am sorry, I cannot see anything beyond that."

"What does that mean?" Ultimaticus asked.

"It means that the future is unknown, even to me," Emerah answered. "There is nothing more I can say or do to tell you the rest of this future."

"I see," I replied.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to rest for a little while to regain my energy," Emerah said while standing. Ultimaticus and I both stood with her and began to walk towards the door. "Before you go," Emerah started, "I would like to tell you that, you shall have many challenges ahead of you." Emerah turned and left the room.

"Come on," Ultimaticus whispered. I nodded and let him lead me out of the house. We walked side by side around the large city as we usually do, this time in complete silence. I had my grip on the front of my long black dress, so I wouldn't trip over the excess fabric in front of me.

I stopped to watch a group of Elders standing in a magic circle, which was drawn on the ground. Ultimaticus stopped beside me to watch as well. The group of five Elders slowly raised their arms and I watched in fascination as a small ball of flames hovered in mid-air. As their arms raised higher in the air, the ball of flames grew bigger and expanded.

"That is amazing," I told Ultimaticus.

"Indeed it is," he answered me.

"I wish I could use magic like that."

"Why don't you learn it from somebody?" Ultimaticus asked me.

"I've tried...and nothing happened. The Elder I was trying to learn it from told me that I may not have the capability to learn magic," I replied sadly.

"Do not worry about it," Ultimaticus said. "There are better things in this world than magic."

I looked up at him and smiled, "You're right."

"Elders! Elders!" a teenage boy ran over to them. The Elders standing within the circle stopped what they were doing and turned to him. "OUR SOLDIERS WON THIS BATTLE!!" he exclaimed with excitement.

"Do not forget that this is only one battle, we are still fighting the war," an Elder told him.

"Yes Elder," the boy said with a bow.

"Thank you for reporting," another Elder replied. "You may go now." The boy stood straight once again and ran off.

Ultimaticus and I continue walking around our city. "Are you hungry?" he asked.

"A bit," I answered.

"Come, we shall eat at the Unihorn Inn today," he guided me to the direction of the cities' one of many inns. "You know..." he started. "I'm surprised the kingdom of Flei has lasted this long against the war against them."

"What do you mean?" I asked. I pretty much knew the answer, however, I figured the conversation would take the thought of hunger out of my mind as we made our way to the inn.

"Well...the towns of Baeilg and Dolhc are working with Yeruta to stop Flei with their plans," Ultimaticus told me.

We didn't need to walk very far to the inn, since we were a few buildings away from it. Ultimaticus held the door open for me and I walked in before him. We made our way over to a table with four chairs situated around it and sat opposite each other. A barmaiden came over to our table to take our orders. We decided to share a medium platter full of cheese, bread and sun-dried meat, the grapes and apples were our dessert. While a mug of ale was what Ultimaticus drank, I had a goblet of apple cider.

As we were eating, we overheard a conversation between a few travellers at a nearby table. "Have you heard?" one of them asked. "The residents of Argass Castle all disappeared."

I met Ultimaticus' gaze with my own as we listened in on the conversation. "I wonder what has happened to them?" a Viera asked.

"I say it is a bad omen," the human of the group replied.


	3. Captive

A/N: The wizard Hyne in this story isn't to be confused with the goddess Hyne. They are two different beings. Also, the FF3 game has the orphans you play as, try to get the 4 Dark elemental crystals so you can defeat a later boss. The Machina Tower mentioned will become the future Centra ruins from FF8 where you can get Odin. Thought I'd share this so you will all know.

Disclaimer: Bandolf belongs to me.

**Chapter 2: Captive**

I walked into my home, one of the largest homes in the city, before the sun set itself on the horizon. "Where have you been?" my father asked me.

"I wandered around the town," I told him half-truthfully.

"You were with _him _weren't you?" he asked me. I gulped and slowly nodded. "How many times do I have to tell you _not _to see that boy!?" he asked angrily.

"What difference does it make?" I asked my father.

"What difference does it make? WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE!?? I'll tell you what difference it makes. You need to marry into a family that has importance in this world!" my father yelled.

"Why should I?" I asked him.

"We already married your sister off to the prince of Argass, and your brother married the princess of Yeruta, that means you are the last child that will be married off!"

"Why should I marry somebody I do not love?" I asked with exasperation.

"Love doesn't matter! Power and wealth does!" my father replied with anger.

"My brother and sister already gave you enough wealth! I shan't marry somebody I do not love and I love Ultimaticus!" I was beginning to become angry myself. "I refuse to suffer to make you happy!"

"YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE WENCH!!" my father bellowed. "I ALLOW YOU TO LIVE IN MY HOME ALL THESE YEARS AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME!??"

"I've lived in your home because I am _your _responsibility. I am your _child_!!" I screamed.

"HOW DARE YOU TAKE THAT TONE WITH ME!!"

"Bandolf, please calm down," my mother placed her hand on his arm. I tucked my loose raven colored hair behind my long pointed ear as I stared my father down.

"Why can't your daughter be more like you? I thought all Fairies were pacifist?" he asked.

"She is your flesh and blood as well," my mother told him.

My father turned back to me with, "If she does not marry the man I've arranged for her, she is no longer my daughter! As for you Snowe, go to your room and go to bed!"

I gave a sigh of defeat as I made my way to my room. I slammed my door after I was all the way in. I changed out of my dress, into my white undergarment so I could go to bed. It took me about an hour to finally fall asleep.

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I awoke in the middle of the night. I had no idea what time it was, but I seen that it was still dark outside. I heard voices in a nearby room, one belonging to my father, and the other was a voice I didn't recognize.

"I will tell my wife that she ran away," my father said.

"What shall we do with her?" a male voice asked.

"That is of no concern of mine, kill her if you want," my father answered. I couldn't believe my ears, my father was planning on getting rid of me?? I quickly got out of bed and put my good black dress on over my undergarment. I pulled the straps of both garments down over my shoulders so they were bare. I ran over to the window, opened it and jumped out.

I began to run and that's when I heard a voice yell, "She's getting away!!" I ran faster as I heard footsteps coming after me. I knew I couldn't outrun whomever was chasing me, so I reached behind me, pulled back the fabric of my garments and extended my wings out. They were white with black running along the edges, I could see them as I turned to look at my persuers.

I jumped into the air and flew upwards thinking I would get away from them, however I felt a shock go through my body and I yelled out in pain. I was paralyzed from the shock and began to fall to the ground. I hit the ground hard and I laid there in a daze. I felt hands grabbing at my arms, so I screamed "ULTIMATI...!!!!" which was cut off by somebody's hand covering my mouth. I screamed into their hand as I regained my ability to move, and began to squirm as much as I could to try and get away. I felt something hit me in the back of the head and that is when I blacked out.

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When I woke up, my vision was blurry. I noticed I was standing upright, with something cold touching my wrists, which my arms were above my head. As my vision was beginning to focus, I gazed up to see my wrists were handcuffed with some sort of metal I had never seen before, and the handcuffs were on a flat metal pole sticking behind my back. I looked around at my surroundings to find myself in a large room filled with other people, who were chained up as I was. I tried to free my wrists from the bands of metal, however it was futile.

"LET ME GO!!!" I screamed. I waited a few minutes as most of the people were staring at me and nobody came to release me. I gave a long, bloodcurdling scream and tried to get out of the metal bands once again.

I heard a whoosh sound as a door on the other side of the room opened. "Ah, you're awake," an evil looking man said to me. He had long black robes with red trim on the sleeves and the collar. His red hair was going in all directions and as he came closer, I noticed that his eyes were black, with a yellow iris.

"LET ME OUT OF HERE!!" I screamed at him with anger in my voice.

The man gave a manical laugh with my orders. "You are here for an experiment of mine, perhaps I shall let you go...if you do not die from it first." He began to walk to the middle of the room, where a mass of metal was formed into a column. There were levers on it, and many flashing colors.

The door gave a whoosh sound as another man came into the room. He had something covered in a cloth in his hands. The man strode over confidently to the other man and uncovered what was in his hands. "Ah, you managed to steal the Dark Water Crystal from those kids I see," he told the man.

"Yes, Wizard Hyne," the man bowed.

"I shall only need one more Dark Crystal, and my collection will be complete," Hyne laughed. Hyne placed the Crystal into a cavity, closed the metal door and relocked the padlock. He then pushed a button on the metal device and I heard a creaking sound above. I looked toward the ceiling and watched in amazement as the ceiling began to split and disappear, revealing the blue sky. I had never seen anything like this before.


	4. Birth of the Sorceress

**Chapter 3: Birth of the Sorceress**

A couple of days later, the captives, along with myself, were feeling fatigued and our bodies were sore from standing for so long. We hadn't been fed or given anything to drink, at least I haven't, since I was brought here.

"The people of this continent call this the Machina Tower," a young woman with long brown hair told me at one point that day. She had a tired, defeated tone to her voice.

"Why do they call it that?" I asked.

"It is ran by Machina," the woman answered. I think she could tell I was confused because she continued, "do you see that column of metal in the middle of the room?" I nodded. "Well, that is called a Machina, it is a machine that runs on gears and oils."

"Oh," was all I said. I knew that Flei was using machines for their battle with Salomia. "Where are we anyway?" I asked.

"We are on the Floating Continent...I do not know where it is going, but it has the capability to move through the air to different locations. By the way, my name is Heliane and I come from the town of Tokkle."

"Snowe," I told her.

"Where are you from?" Heliane asked to try and make our boredom bearable.

"I'm from Salomia," I answered.

"Salomia? The town of mages?" Heliane asked and I nodded. "How did you get all the way here?"

"I was kidnapped...my father hired somebody to kill me, and the next thing I know, I'm chained up here," I explained. "He wanted me to marry a rich and powerful person like my siblings did, but I didn't agree with him."

"Do you have any loved ones in Salomia?" Heliane asked.

"My boyfriend, Ultimaticus," I answered. "My mother doesn't know I was taken, my father told the other man that he would tell her that I ran away from home."

Before she or I could say anything more, Hyne walked in with something covered by a cloth. Heliane and I watched as Hyne unwrapped another Crystal and laughed as he placed it into the last empty cavity. As with the other Crystal he had before, he closed the metal door on the device and padlocked it.

"Bring them in!" Hyne ordered to somebody standing at the door. Armed knights forced a group of people into the room, and they were soon chained up as the rest of us were. "Now leave us!" Hyne yelled. The knights all ran out of the room as fast as they could with Hyne's tone. "Soon my little trophies...you shall be infused with my power," he said.

"Why are you doing this??" a man asked.

"Ah, King Argass...always the curious one," Hyne mocked. "I have enough power to turn you all into my pawns, hehehehe...HAHAHAHAHA!!! Then I can use my newly created, powerful witches and wizards to control the world!!!"

"You are insane!!" a woman screamed.

"Perhaps...but my plan will work and there is nothing anybody can do about it!!" Hyne exclaimed.

I watched as a knight ran into the room we were in and exclaimed, "Mage Hyne!!"

Hyne turned towards the voice and asked, "What is the meaning of this intrusion!?"

"The world below us..." the knight started breathlessly, "is in chaos!"

"What happened?" Hyne asked, ignoring us for the time being.

"Apparently the Yggdrasil's disappearance had weaken the gates to Nyu...and the war against Flei and the other nations...has opened Nyu up, and now demons are running loose," the knight took a deep breath and let it out.

"My excellency!" another knight ran into the room.

"What now??" Hyne demanded angrily.

"The Light Warriors are on their way here!! They are on an airship!" the knight explained.

"Leave us!! I have some work to do before the upcoming battle!" Hyne ordered with desperation in his voice. The two knights ran out of the room, with the double doors slamming behind them. He turned to all of us. "Time is not on my side..." Hyne started. He extended his arms and a veil of black mist began to cover his body. A few minutes later, the mist dissipated and we were met with a terrible sight.

Hyne was now a mere skeleton within a knee-length blue robe. He wore a white cloak with orange fabric cascading down the left side of his body. He also wore a hat of some sort with large orange feathers. Many of the females screamed at the sight of Hyne. He stood in front of the Machina thing and extended his arms out to his sides. He pulled a lever up, placed his hands into two cup-shaped pieces of metal, which hung down from the machine. A humming sound came from the machine as it powered up with a force I was not familiar with.

Hyne sent energy out of his body, through his arms, which travelled to his hands and soon I felt a power enter into my body. It was barely felt at first, however, the intensity increased and soon, everyone in the room was screaming or yelling out in pain. I could feel the energy as it seemed to settle into my very soul with a white-hot fire. I felt I was being burned alive, but without any physical signs of the pain inflicted upon me.

"ULTIMATICUS!!!!!" I screamed, hoping by some small miracle that he would know I needed him. "Please help me!!" I cried as tears fell down my cheeks. I began to sob with pain as Hyne continued to laugh. I then felt what seemed like an evil presence start to enter into me. I felt my heart begin to darken with this presense.

"That's enough Hyne!!" I heard a calm clear voice near the doors. I opened my eyes to see four teenagers standing there. The boy looked at another boy and told him, "Do it!" The other boy walked over to the doors and pulled down a lever, and I immediately felt the metal bands around my wrists open up.

"Snowe!!" I heard Ultimaticus exclaim as I began to fall to the floor, he caught me in time and I felt faint.

"Ultimaticus," I cried.

He held me to his chest as I sobbed some more. "Shh, it's over now Snowe..." Ultimaticus kissed my forehead. "Can you walk?" he asked.

"I-I don't know...I've been standing in that position many days now," I answered weakly.

"I'll take care of it," he told me as he lifted me into his arms and stood.

"H-how did you find me?" I asked weakly.

"You called to me did you not?" he replied.

"How did you get here so fast?" I asked.

"I flew," was his simple response. I accepted it for now, as I was too weak to stay conscious.


	5. She's Awake

A/N: This is only a transition chapter, which is why it is so short.

**Chapter 4: She's Awake**

My eyes slowly fluttered open and I looked up to see Ultimaticus sitting beside me on the bed. "How are you love?" he asked.

"I feel better than I had been," I answered. "How long have I been out?"

"About twelve hours."

I was worried when I remembered what happened to myself and the others. I still felt a piece of the dark presence within me, which made me start to cry. "What is it?" Ultimaticus asked.

"I've been changed somehow...I feel it."

"Changed how?" Ultimaticus pressed while running his fingers through my hair.

"By the Machina column, in the tower," I answered. "I feel a dark presence in my very soul."

I began to sit up, however, Ultimaticus pushed me gently back down, "You must rest."

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Still on the Floating Continent...we are safer up here," Ultimaticus told me.

"What do you mean?" I asked with worry.

"The world below has been thrown into chaos. Demons have escaped from Nyu," was Ultimaticus' answer.

"I hope my mother is alright," I replied. Ultimaticus shrugged. "What are we going to do now?" I asked.

"You are going to lay there and rest...after you recover, then we can make the decision."

"I'm scared," I confessed.

"I won't let anything bad happen to you," was Ultimaticus' response.

"What happened to that wizard?" I asked.

"Don't worry about him anymore, he's been destroyed," Ultimaticus consoled. I gazed into his eyes as he smiled at me.


	6. Unprepared Option

**Chapter 5: Unprepared Option**

The next day, Ultimaticus and I were exploring the city on the Floating Continent. "You may not believe this, but the castle was covered with branches of a large tree yesterday."

I looked around us and didn't see any sort of branches in sight. "Are you sure? Why would a tree be up in the sky?"

"It was the Yggdrasil, that tree is the barrier between this world and Nyu. When the tree was taken out of the Living Forest, the barrier weakened and the Demons were able to break out. Nyu is probably protected by the Yggdrasil once again," Ultimaticus told me.

An elderly man stood in the middle of our area with his arms raised in the air. "My friends, you must heed my words!!" What he said next chilled me to the bone. "The time is nigh, when a great disaster shall fall upon our world!!"

"What is that old coot talking about now?" I heard a man ask.

"Who knows, but it doesn't sound good," a woman replied.

"His predictions have been right so far," another man said.

The elderly man continued, "This world shall be destroyed!! The moon shall bleed and it's blood shall drip onto our world!! Monsters shall inherit the earth!!" With this last sentence, many in the crowd began to laugh at him. I immediately thought of what the Prophetess Emerah told Ultimaticus and myself the last day we were together in Salomia.

"Now the senile coot is talking about a bleeding moon and monsters coming from it??" the first man laughed while bending over and hitting his knee a few times as he continued laughing.

"We must get away from this area before that happens!!" the elderly man continued, ignoring the mockery.

I turned my gaze up to Ultimaticus and he gave me an encouraging smile, while wrapping his arm around my waist. He leaned down and whispered, "Notice anything about this continent?" I looked at him questioningly. "What type of people are walking around here?"

I studied the civilians around me and tried to think. That's when I noticed them, "Fairies," was my answer.

Ultimaticus nodded and replied, "Come...let us go to a local pub and eat."

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As we waited for a barmaiden to appear with a menu, I asked, "Why do you like eating at bars all the time?"

"Well," Ultimaticus started, "the food is almost always great, high quality ales and I like to listen into other people's conversations...pubs are a great place to hear about news and rumors."

"Hyne called one of the men in the Machina Tower, King Argass," I told him.

"There you go, remember that we heard about the disappearance of the people of Argass Castle? Now we know what happened to them," Ultimaticus smirked. "We can buy something to eat in our room at the inn for dinner tonight. That can be an intimate meal." I nodded with a smile.

A couple of people walked into the pub talking loudly, "...need to figure out what to do to protect ourselves in case the old man is right," an Elvaan man with shoulder-length, curly, blonde hair was saying.

"Well," a Human man with short, red hair began, "the Centrans have the most technilogical advanced weaponry and missiles, even more advanced than Flei. That could stop the monsters in their tracks."

"From what I understand, there are rumors that the Centran engineers will begin building some mobile shelters soon. If the people want to leave on them, they will be able to, while the ones who want to stay here, fight their own battle with these monsters," the Elvaan told the other.

"Every man for themselves, eh?" the Human asked.

"Pretty much," the Elvaan replied.

"May I take your order?" a barmaiden asked while handing Ultimaticus a menu. Ultimaticus looked it over for a minute or so, then turned his gaze to me.

"Would you like to try the cheesecake?" he asked.

"Sure," I replied.

"We'll have that for dessert. For the main meal we will have your finest cheese, bread and ale. Oh, and apple cider for the young lady," Ultimaticus quickly added.

"Very well," the barmaiden replied before leaving our table. I leaned over in my chair a bit to get a good look at Ultimaticus' clothes. Today he wore a brown pair of tights under his green, upper-thigh length tunic. His waist was belted by a brown piece of thin, leather cord, which was flat. He also wore a pair of green, knee-high boots that laced up all the way. His long legs were spread apart underneath the table, so I was able to see the tights right underneath his tunic, which I knew I wasn't suppose to see yet until I was married to him.

"What?" Ultimaticus laughed as he noticed me observing him. I turned my gaze up and saw him running his hand through his pitch black hair, while his red irisis stared at me.

"Just admiring how handsome you are," I replied softly, while feeling my cheeks burn with embarrassment as I shifted in my chair and turned my eyes down to the floor.

"Here is your order," the barmaiden interrupted as she placed the tray of foods and drink in front of us.

Ultimaticus nodded to her before he took in our immediate surrounding. He looked at me and said, "Let's go over there out of earshot," he nodded while his eyes were behind me, "there are too many here who are able to listen to our conversation." He picked the tray up off the table and lead me over to an empty one in the back, away from the door. We sat down once again and Ultimaticus began dividing the food between us. "So..." he started nervously, "were you able to see up my tunic as you were admiring me?"

I felt my cheeks heat up even more from that question. We had only talked about the subject of intimacy like this once before.

"Your hesitation means that you did," Ultimaticus replied after silence came from me.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been looking," I responded.

"I do not mind you looking," Ultimaticus told me as he took a bite out of some dried meat.

I didn't know my face could heat up even more until that comment. "But...we are not married," I pointed out to him. I picked up my goblet to take a drink of the cider inside.

"We can get married then," Ultimaticus replied and I began to cough as the liquid went down the wrong pipe.

"What?!" I exclaimed as I coughed a few times.

"We can get married then," Ultimaticus repeated seriously.

"But, but...we haven't been blessed by my father yet!" I told him sternly.

"Come on, you know your father would not give us his blessing anyhow," Ultimaticus stated as he took a drink of his ale. He put the glass down and continued eating.

"I know if we gave him time to come around," I started.

"We have been together five years now," Ultimaticus interrupted. "I have asked for his blessing every month for the past three years, he isn't ever going to give us his blessing. Snowe, I want you to become my wife and I want us to have children together and I want to raise them with you."

"What about the part where I end up in Nyu for disobedience to my father?" I asked uncertainly.

"You do not honestly believe that do you?" Ultimaticus asked me with narrowed eyes.

"Those are the stories I've heard all my life," I replied with a little fear.

"Snowe...those are only stories that parents tell little girls to have them obey," Ultimaticus started while taking my hand in his. "Those are not true and even if they were, I would be there to protect you. Besides, the boys in Salomia are allowed to run wild and have relations with as many girls as they want to, right?"

"Yes...but what about Nyu opening up recently?" I asked.

"Nyu opened up because the barrier that sealed the entrance was taken, it has nothing to do with you or anybody else disobeying their fathers," Ultimaticus replied. "How about it?" he asked gently, "you only have yourself to answer to now."

"I don't know," I told him. I couldn't get all those stories of obedience out of my head from my childhood.

"You'll get to see what's under my tights," Ultimaticus grinned mischievously.

"I can't believe you just said that!" I laughed as he squeezed my hand.

"Well, you already seen me without a shirt on," Ultimaticus laughed with me. "How about it?" his grin faded and his voice turned serious once again. "We were already going to have an intimate dinner tonight...if we get married, we can also make love for the first time. Please, Snowe?" he pleaded.

"Are you sure the stories about Nyu and disobedience are not true?" I asked him with fear lacing my voice.

"Positive," Ultimaticus answered. "I promise you those stories are not true. Besides, your father tried to have you killed, which means that he cannot tell you what to do anymore." I opened my mouth and was about to speak, but before I could, Ultimaticus responded, "Trust me."

Finally, I nodded and answered, "Yes, I will marry you." Ultimaticus smiled and raised my hand to his lips so he could kiss it.

"After we finish eating, we will go seek out a priest and have our wedding," Ultimaticus told me. "But before that, we will go find a dress for you to wear."

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We had bought a dress at the local boutique shop. It was a white dress, with a trail behind it which dragged across the floor as I walked. After we left the shop, Ultimaticus grabbed my hand and lead me back to the inn. He gently closed the door to our room and turned to me. "I have something to tell you before you decide for sure that you want to marry me," he told me.

"What is it?" I asked as he motioned for me to sit on the bed.

Ultimaticus seemed nervous as he ran his hand through his black hair. "I...am not who I seem to be," he started.

"What do you mean?" I asked nervously and he stood in front of me.

"Well...I am...not human," he stated, which confused me.

"You _look _human to me," I replied with a smile.

"Let me show you," he told me with a sigh. He began to untie his leather belt and he placed it on the bed beside me.

"We are not married yet!" I protested with shock.

"That isn't what I'm doing!" Ultimaticus yelled as he lifted his tunic over his head, exposing his tights beneath. I could see a slight bulge of his manhood within the tights. "Look at this," he ordered softly as he turned his back to me. I saw the skin on his back begin to tear in two places and leathery red appendixes began to emerge.

I stared in shock and asked, "What's wrong with you?" just as his skin turned red and the appendixes unfolded from his back, which turned out to be bat-like wings. I screamed as he turned to me and I saw that his eyes were now glowing red, which they never did before. "What has happened to you?" I asked.

"This is my true form," Ultimaticus answered as he stared me down.

"But why haven't you told me this before?" I demanded as I backed up on the bed.

"Look at how you are acting now," he replied. "This is why I haven't told you about me."

"If you're not a human...what _are _you?" I asked.

"I am a Demon," he answered as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"A Demon from Nyu?" I asked in fear.

"Yes Snowe, Nyu was once my home until I escaped." Ultimaticus quickly landed on top of me and I was too scared to push him away. "I will not harm you Snowe," he said in a soothing voice.

"W-why not?"

"Because I love you," he replied before giving me a kiss.

"B-but I thought Demons were evil?" I asked.

"We are evil..." he ran his hand through my hair as he stared into my eyes. "You deserve to know what I am before we get married."

"Why did you want to marry me? Did you want to take me back to Nyu so I could become your Demon bride?" I demanded fearfully.

"Listen...I have respect among my Demon brethren. Nyu has opened up and as long as you are with me, you will remain safe from the ones who have escaped," Ultimaticus told me. "I _do _want to marry you Snowe..."

"I thought I knew you," I started.

"You _do _know me Snowe, although I look different in your eyes right now, I've always been the person you thought I was," I noticed Ultimaticus had a pleading tone to his voice.

"Why didn't you tell me the truth?" I asked with a shaky voice.

"I thought that I would scare you away," Ultimaticus leaned up so he could sit on the bed beside me.

"Were you going to sacrifice me to the Demon Lords of Nyu after we were married," I asked. This question got laughter from Ultimaticus, "What are you laughing at!?" I screamed.

"Your naive mind," he answered with amusement. "If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it the first time I saw you. Do you really want to know what I would have done after we were married?"

"What?" I asked quietly.

Ultimaticus leaned his body over so it would be almost on top of mine. I leaned back on my hands as I tried to get away from him, but it didn't work well since his face was so close to mine. "First of all, I would bring you back here and make love to you. And somewhere down the years, we would have children together and I would help you raise them. I will make you happy."

I could see the sincerity in his eyes as he gazed down at me. "You really mean it?" I asked.

"Yes," Ultimaticus replied before giving me a short kiss on the mouth. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him more passionately. He broke the kiss off and asked, "So...does this mean...?"

"Yes, I'll marry you Ultimaticus!" I laughed. I knew I should have been afraid of him, but we were together for so long, that I knew he wouldn't harm me in any way.

After a couple of minutes, Ultimaticus began to stand as he replied, "Are you ready to do this?" His wings started to shake a little and fold within themselves.

"Wait!" I ordered as I began to get up from the bed and stood beside Ultimaticus. "Can I...?" I started while my hand hovered inches away from one of his wings.

"Go ahead," Ultimaticus answered and he unfolded his wings out to their full extent, which was really large. I ran my hand first along the edge of the appendix, and then along the inside of the wing. The edge felt like tough leather, and the inside part of the wing felt fleshy and very warm.

"So...I wonder if the children we have will be born with wings?" I asked.

"I've had children for centuries before you were born and they were born with wings. It depends on each child from my experience what _kind _of wings they had," Ultimaticus answered.

"You have children already?"

"Yes, all of them from the Salomia area," he told me. "That was many years ago though, so many of them have crossed over to the Farplane." His wings began to retract into his back as he wrapped his arms around my back, "I think of at least one of them everyday...but today is all about us." he smiled. His skin changed back to the tan color that I usually see him with, after his wings were gone from sight.


	7. The Wedding

**Chapter 7: The Wedding**

I was now standing in an artificial field filled with multicolored flowers of many kinds. Ultimaticus and I were standing beneath a white arch with white scarves adorning the arch. I wore a white gown which went down to the ground and it had a small train on the back. My hair was put up in a bun and was adorned by a tiara with a white veil. I never knew ordinary people could wear tiaras before, at least I've heard that only royalty could wear them. Ultimaticus had assured me that today was a special day for me, so it was alright. He wore the same clothes he had on all day, but he told me that it didn't matter what he wore, the only thing that mattered was that he was with me.

"Shall we begin?" the aging priest asked us.

"Yes, please," Ultimaticus answered while glancing at me with a grin.

The priest motioned for one of his assistants to come over to put the garland of roses in front of Ultimaticus and myself. "Each of you stand on opposite sides of the rose garland and join hands." Ultimaticus and I did as we were told and gazed into each other's eyes. "In this vial, we have Holy Water to symbolize this union." Ultimaticus' eyes eyed the vial with fear. I gently squeezed his hands and that made him turn his eyes back to me.

I heard a cork pop and then a few seconds later, I felt the priest's wet finger on my forehead, making a symbol of some sort. I watched as the priest turned the vial upside down against his finger to get some more Holy Water on it. After he turned the bottle right-side up to make sure none of it spilled, he lifted his hand toward Ultimaticus. As soon as the priest's finger touched Ultimaticus to make the symbol on his forehead, Ultimaticus hissed in pain.

"Ugh!" Ultimaticus grimaced as the symbol was traced on his forehead.

"What's wrong?" I asked with worry as I studied Ultimaticus. Ultimaticus simply shook his head while looking at me.

"Should we postpone the ceremony until you are feeling better?" the priest asked with genuine concern.

"No...no," Ultimaticus shook his head at the priest. "I want to finish this."

"Very well," the priest began the ceremony while Ultimaticus squeezed my hands reassuringly. "We are here today to join these two in holy marriage." I studied Ultimaticus' face as his brows were still furrowed in pain. Ultimaticus and I made eye contact as we let the priest drone on for who knows who long. "Ultimaticus?" the priest started and Ultimaticus turned his gaze to the priest. "You may kiss your bride now." Ultimaticus gave me another grin as he lowered his head to kiss me passionately.

"Thank you prie..." he turned toward the direction the priest was standing, but he stopped. I turned my gaze over to the priest's direction, only to see him walking away out of earshot with his assistant in tow beside him. "Well," I saw Ultimaticus look at me once again from my peripheral vision, so I turned toward him.

"We should get you to the inn so you can rest," I started.

"What?" Ultimaticus asked with a laugh.

"You were in pain earlier," I replied as I leaned against his chest.

"I'm a Demon...the Holy Water didn't agree with me," he joked.

"Oh," I laughed as I wrapped my arms around Ultimaticus. He in turn, wrapped his arms around me in a tight, comforting embrace.

Ultimaticus leaned his head down so his mouth was beside my ear. I could feel his warm breath as he told me in a low voice, "Tonight, we can make love for the first time." He nibbled on my earlobe, which was a feeling I had never experienced before. My heart began to beat harder as his lips explored my ear and neck. I felt one last breath on my neck before Ultimaticus stood up straight and said, "I can't kiss you right now."

"Why not?" I asked curiously. Ultimaticus nodded downward, so I averted my eyes, only to see a long, noticable bulge in his tights. I covered my mouth with my hand to suppress a laugh, I was also surprised because I had never seen him in that state before. "Um...why is it so big like that and how did it get so big?" I had realized I'd never seen _anybody _like that before.

"I was thinking about what we will be doing tonight, and...it grew in anticipation," Ultimaticus answered with a nervous cough.

"And you say you are a big, bad, evil Demon," I teased.

"Yes, but this," he pointed with both hands towards his bulge, "is very private. You are not meant to see how big it is yet, and nobody but you are allowed to see it. Once it goes back down, we can head back to the inn and get settled in for our special moment later on." Ultimaticus cross his arms in front of his bulge so it would be more difficult for anyone to see and he stood with his feet together as he seemed to be waiting. A few minutes later, Ultimaticus grabbed my hand and led me to the inn, I noticed that his bulge was now gone.

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We were in our room later that night and we had finished eating. I sat on the bed while Ultimaticus laid beside me on his side. "Snowe?" Ultimaticus said. I turned to look at him and noticed that his tights were pulled down to expose himself to me. My mouth was hanging open in surprise at the size of it, Ultimaticus grinned while letting the fabric of his tights go back to covering him up. Ultimaticus sat up a bit more so he could reach my open mouth. He rubbed a finger over my bottom lip while saying, "This is one place where my manhood can go," he leaned in to take my bottom lip in both of his own before he deepened the kiss. He pushed me gently on the bed and moved his body on top of mine as he continued the kiss. He ran one hand through my raven hair and his other hand ran down my body, to my waist and stopped there. "Shall we begin?"


	8. Planning For the Future

A/N: Short chapter I know, but this is a transitional chapter that is meant to seperate a set amount of time between this and the next chapter. I have ideas for this fic but I just had trouble implementing them, so this is like the only solution I could come up with to continue on with the story.

**Chapter 8: Planning For the Future**

I awoke and laid there for a few minutes taking my surroundings in. I noticed Ultimaticus was spooning me from behind and I could feel his naked, warm body pressed against mine. His arm was wrapped around my midsection and I could feel his gentle breath on the back of my neck. I turned my head to look at him, only to be met with a grin.

"Good morning," Ultimaticus told me as he squeezed my midsection a little tighter.

"How long have you been awake?" I asked as I turned over onto my back.

"All night," was his answer.

"You mean you have not been to sleep yet?" I asked with concern.

"Demons do not need to sleep," Ultimaticus told me. "Besides," he shrugged with indifference, "I had the chance to watch over my beautiful new wife." I could feel the heat of embarrassment play upon my face at that comment. Ultimaticus turned serious before he asked me, "I did not harm you last night...did I?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"The first time you've ever made love with anybody...I know it is suppose to hurt those who have not done it before," he explained to me.

"It hurt a little," I confessed. The truth was, it hurt more than just a little, but I did not want to worry Ultimaticus.

"It will feel better each time we do it," he assured me as he leaned down to give me a kiss. He then slid his body over my own and placed his arms on either side of my head. I ran my hands across his bare chest as he stared deep into my eyes. Ultimaticus leaned his head to the side so he could place his mouth near my neck and he began to suck and lick the area slowly. I felt so _special_ because he chose to be intimate with me, so that made me feel even _more_ special.

"Ultimaticus?" I began as I turned my gaze to the window nearest to the bed.

"Hm?" Ultimaticus responded as he continued sucking and licking my neck.

"What will our future be like?" I asked. I felt it was necessary to ask that question eventually.

Ultimaticus lifted his head a little so he could gaze into my eyes. I cupped the side of his face with my right hand and met his gaze. Ultimaticus placed his hand over mine, turned his face to it and kissed the palm before answering gently, "I _told _you that we shall live in a nice house, with plenty of land," he kissed my palm again. "We will have many children together."

"How can we do that when there are Demons wandering about on the land below us?" I asked.

Ultimaticus stopped kissing my palm and replied, "As long as you are with me, you shall remain safe. I am one of them, so they will not give us any trouble. Many of the Demons realize that I am _not _one to be messed with."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Ultimaticus gave a sigh before answering, "I am one of the most powerful of Nyu. Those who do not know me, will regret going against me." He leaned down and gave me a lingering kiss. He grinned and asked, "Are you ready to make love again?"

"Look at that," Ultimaticus told me as we stood at the railing of the city. We were looking down at the continent below us. I was amazed that the engineers of the Floating Continent had created two large buildings of some kind. There were warriors surrounding each one to keep the Demons and monsters away.

"What are they?" I asked in awe.

"Those are the Centra shelters being created," an elderly man answered. The buildings had drawn a crowd of spectators, who all seemed to also be in awe. "With the prophet foretelling disaster to our continent, many engneers have decided to make safe havens for those who wish to leave."

"We shall leave this continent," Ultimaticus said. I saw Ultimaticus turn to me out of the corner of my eye. I in turn looked up at him and met his gaze. "This isn't our home. We will leave in one of those shelters," he turned his head back to the direction of the shelters with a nod, "and then we shall search for our own home afterwards."


	9. The Centran Shelters

A/N: for those who have made it this far, please go back to chapter 5 (Unprepared Option)and re-read it. I added on to that chapter because i forgot all about a scene thanks to my confusing way of keeping the stories updated lol. this will explain things in the chapter called (The Wedding). Salomia is now a large city in earlier chapters, and the name "Agross" is now "Argass." Thanks for all the support! If you see any errors in any chapters, please tell me in a review. As usual, please read and review!

Disclaimers: Etienne, Azmyth, Eoin and Eldor all belong to me. Brynhild is the attendant of Odin in the Norse mythology.

**Chapter 9: The Centran Shelters**

A couple of weeks had passed and each day, the Centra shelters were closer to being complete. It was evening and the workers below had torches of some sort illuminating the areas they were working on. I turned my eyes up to the night sky, and saw the moon. I placed my hand on Ultimaticus' arm and I saw from my peripheral vision that he turned to me. "The moon..." I told him.

He turned his gaze up to the moon and saw the color of blood on its surface. "It's starting," Ultimaticus replied.

"What is starting?" I asked worriedly. I grabbed onto my husband's arm and looked up at him.

Ultimaticus gave a sigh as he explained, "The moon has turned red...which means that there will be fiends raining upon this planet in many numbers. I have lived through this many times before." He pulled me into an embrace as he continued, "But whatever happens, know this. I know what to expect from this event, and I know we can overcome it. I will protect you from this."

"So..." I started. "This world has Demons from below...and soon, fiends from above?"

"Something like that," Ultimaticus answered. "Nyu is not below this planet as many think. It is a different plane of existance. I do not understand how the veil had been lifted to allow them safe passage into this plane." He tightened his hold on me as I buried the side of my face into his chest.

"What is it like there?" I started. "In Nyu?"

"Not that bad," I felt Ultimaticus shrug. "Mostly cold and dark, everything is dead and...boring." I turned my eyes back up to his face, but he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. "There was no doubt about why I decided to escape Nyu...I wanted to be free of that place. I had a reason for being here as well, and I would not be surprised if I was attacked because of it."

"Why would you be attacked?" I asked him.

Ultimaticus was about to answer me, but we were interrupted by yelling from below. We both turned back to the railing and watched as a group of monsters of some kind attacked some warriors below. "Demons!" Ultimaticus exclaimed. They were too far away for me to see well enough, however, I figured Ultimaticus would know the difference between them and monsters. "Here, hold my tunic," he ordered as he slipped his tunic over his head.

"What are you going to do?" I asked as I took the offered article of clothing.

Ultimaticus' skin turned red and his wings came out at the same time. "I will go down there and stop them. They will leave once they see me." With that, Ultimaticus jumped from the railing and flew down to the ground below.

I watched as he hovered in midair before the Demons. They immediately stopped what they were doing and then seemed to have bowed down to the ground. A few minutes passed before the Demons disappeared in a cloud of dark smoke, and Ultimaticus flew back up to me. Once he landed on the street beside me, I gave him back his tunic and his wings began to fold up and was absorved into his back. "What happened?" I asked him.

"They left," Ultimaticus shrugged his tunic on as his skin turned back to his 'normal' color that I was used to. "I told them to tell the others who had escaped Nyu to keep away from this area of the world."

"Do you think they will?" I asked as I placed my hands over his now covered chest and met his eyes with my own.

"If they know what is good for them they will," he responded. "Are you ready to go inside?" I gave Ultimaticus a nod as I smiled at him.

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The next morning I found myself outside once again looking down at the Centra shelters. This time, even more was done to them. "How are they getting the buildings finished so quickly?" I asked Ultimaticus.

"They have many people switch throughout the day. When one group takes a break, another group goes in and continues on," a man to my right explained. He looked to be about in his forties or fifties. His hair was black and he had brown eyes.

"No _wonder _these shelters are getting done so quickly," Ultimaticus responded.

"The shelters should be completed within a few days' time," the man told us. "Then those who want to leave shall be allowed to."

I cast my gaze over the sight below us and I finally set my sights on a large man covered in very dark armor. He was seated on an armored horse and was watching the area beyond the shelter he was guarding. "Who is that man?" I asked to anyone who could answer me.

"Which one?" Ultimaticus asked as he looked around.

I pointed to the man on the horse and the man beside me answered, "That is Eoin. He is a very powerful Dark Knight. He also rules over this continent, but he was not able to go against that Sorcerer Hyne because Hyne was too powerful."

"The Light Warriors were able to defeat Hyne because their power comes from the divine. Dark Knights recieve their power from the same darkness that Hyne had," Ultimaticus cut in. I could see the man beside me nodding in agreement from my peripheral vision.

"If you'll excuse me, I've got some business to attend to," the man told us. After the man left, Ultimaticus leaned down and kissed my cheek. I turned my gaze up to him and he grinned at me.

"What?" I asked with a smile.

"Nothing, just basking in your beauty," Ultimaticus replied.

"Make way for the prince and princess!" I heard a man announce. Ultimaticus and I both turned to the voice and saw four people making their way towards us. One of them was my sister Etienne and one of the others was her husband Prince Azmyth.

"We must see how much progress has been made on the shelters," the woman in warrior clothing was telling the prince.

"Sister?" Etienne interupted the other woman as she saw me. "What are _you _doing here?"

"I was wondering the same thing," I replied. "Prince Azmyth," I took a little bow before standing upright once again. Azmyth nodded in greeting.

"We came to the Floating Continent once we heard that King Argass was here," Etienne answered me. "Now, what are _you _doing here?" she asked me again.

"I was kidnapped and brought here," I answered.

"And you?" Etienne turned her eyes to Ultimaticus.

"I saved her from that wizard Hyne," Ultimaticus told her.

"You were in the Machina Tower as well?" Etienne asked, and I nodded.

"Father paid a man to bring me here," I revealed.

"Why would he do such a thing?" Etienne asked in a tone of voice that had doubt in my words.

"Because I wanted to marry Ultimaticus," I answered her.

"He would do no such thing!" Etienne accused. I knew she didn't believe me. "You probably ran away just to spite father, I wouldn't put it past you to do such a thing."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You are a selfish girl, that is what I mean!" Etienne replied.

"How dare you!" I hissed coldly. "You _know _Ultimaticus and I have been together many years now!"

Ultimaticus wrapped one of his arms around my stomach, which got Etienne to turn her eyes to him, "Unhand my sister you commoner!"

"He is my husband," I replied.

"Father did not approve of this man," Etienne told me.

"Your father tried to have her killed. She no longer has to obey him," Ultimaticus said as he tightened his hold on my stomach.

"Please!" the warrior dressed woman scolded. "We are here to find Eoin."

"He's over there," I pointed below us towards the shelter on the farthest right.

"How do you know Eoin?" Azmyth asked me.

"I asked who he was a few moments ago and the man standing here told us," I answered quietly as I turned back around to look down at the shelters.

"Should we go down there Brynhild?" Azmyth asked.

"Perhaps we should go down there and help them," the woman I assumed to be Brynhild answered.

"Princess Brynhild," the other man of the group started, "you must stay up here to remain safe."

I heard Brynhild give a sigh as she responded, "Very well Eldor, we shall stay up here."

"When will the shelters depart?" Ultimaticus asked anyone who would answer.

"Within a few days. Then the ones who wish to leave the Floating Continent may do so," Brynhild replied. "Though, many may stay here with the promise of being protected by the Leviathan and the Bahamut."

"What are those?" I asked with curiousity.

"Bahamut and the Leviathan are legendary dragons. Bahamut is said to be the king of the dragons, and there is a cave named after him on this very continent," Brynhild explaned to us. "The Leviathan is a water dragon that lives in Lake Dol, also on this continent."

"That is interesting," I commented as I watched the action below us.


	10. Breathtaking

A/N: The building featured in this chapter, is the future Balamb Garden from FF8. My fic, "A Sorceress and Her Knights" talks about these events throughout it. Thought you'd like to know that bit of information lol. The previous chapter is now part of the story, instead of the "Author Notes."

Disclaimer: I own Telanna.

**Chapter 10: Breathtaking**

"We must hurry," Ultimaticus was telling me as he grabbed an armful of clothes he had bought and stuffed them into a knapsack. I did the same to the clothes he bought for me since we arrived on this continent. "The moon will rain monsters upon our world soon."

"What shall we do for food?" I asked worriedly as I took more of my clothes out of the armoire and put them into the knapsack Ultimaticus had bought for me.

"Remember they already stocked each shelter with food, clothing and anything else the travellers will need," Ultimaticus stated as he pulled the string on the bag to close it.

"I'm scared," I confessed as I put the last of my things into the knapsack.

Ultimaticus shouldered his knapsack before placing his hands on my shoulders. "Everything will be fine, you will see. I will protect you from anything." He picked up my bag and then grabbed my hand. "Come, let us depart quickly." We both ran to the door and then toward the exit of the inn.

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Ultimaticus and I stopped at the edge of the rails we always stood at to watch the action down below. This time, hundreds, maybe even _thousands_, of people were loading up into the shelters. From what I understood, the city on the Floating Continent housed _millions _of people altogether, there were also the scattered houses throughout the continent as well. Others were going down on what Ultimaticus called a lift. It was some sort of mechanism that used oils and Machina to go up and down, carrying people along the top of it. I turned my eyes up to the crimson moon, which was visible in the daytlight hours.

"How should we decend?" Ultimaticus asked me. I looked at him with a questioning gaze. "Should we use the lift, or fly down?"

"Whichever you decide," I replied. "Either way is fine by me." I noticed other Fairies using their wings to fly down to the ground below.

"We fly down, it is quicker that way," Ultimaticus told me. He took the knapsack off his shoulder and handed it to me. He then unlaced the top of his tunic and bared his torso, while keeping the bottom half of his tunic on in order to stay covered below the waist. His skin reddened as he allowed his wings to come out of his back. He held his hand out for the knapsack which I gave back to him. He switched the bag to his other hand and wrapped his free arm around my shoulders. "Are you ready to do this?" he asked.

"Yes," I answered with a smile as my eyes made contact with his glowing red ones. He and I both climbed up over the edge of the rails and jumped off. I let my wings out from under my gown and glided down to the ground with Ultimaticus beside me the whole time.

A Demon came out of nowhere toward us and Ultimaticus waved his hand out in front of him. A round mass of dark energy came out of his hand and hit the other Demon in his chest. When the blast subsided, the other Demon was nothing more than a wisp of smoke in the air. "I told you I'll protect you from anything," Ultimaticus replied. I looked at him and he had a toothy grin on his face as he began to change his appearance to the normal one I was used to. "Come," he wrapped his arm around my shoulders again and my bare arm was met with his bare torso as he lead me over to one of the shelters.

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The shelter we had entered was huge on the inside. A scrolled carving adored the entrance of the building on each side, and there were rectangular flameless torches on it called lights. In the middle of the entrance on the top, were more scrolled carvings with a black and white symbol within them. The symbol is set within a diamond with blue crystal-shaped lights. A divider made of metal was set underneath the entrance and in it were a roll of grasslike plants. The same type of metal divider was used on the sides of the entrance gate as well, with a different variety of plants. I turned my eyes to the floor and I could see my reflection in the light colored material it was made of. There were also an orange marking throughout the floor. I looked behind me at the beautiful courtyard and the sky beyond that.

"Breathtaking," Ultimaticus said in a state of awe beside me as he studied the shelter. I slipped my right hand in his left hand, and placed my left hand on his arm. Ultimaticus turned his eyes to me and smiled as we walked further into the shelter. I noticed many of the people were either Fairies, Humans or Viera. There were a few Mithra here and there as well. "Let us explore."

We walked to the middle of the ring-shaped core of the shelter, where a column of metal was set up. I turned my eyes upwards to see people walking along a second story on a bridge. Ultimaticus led me to the right and after a short time, we stopped at a section branching off the main ring. "Perhaps you would like a tour?" a female Viera asked us.

"Very well," Ultimaticus smiled at her.

"I am Telanna," she introduced herself with a bow.

"I am Ultimaticus and this is my wife Snowe," Ultimaticus exchanged the greeting.

"Very nice to meet you," she bowed slightly once more before pointing to the doorway in front of us. "This is the Library. All of the finest books on spiritual, combat tactics and many other subjects are within it." She started toward the next branch of the main ring which we could see in the distance. Once we got to it, she said, "This is where the engineers have set up the supplies such as clothing, bedding and various other things."

"So far those are two useful places," I added in.

"Yes they are," Telanna smiled as she started for the next branch. "This is the garden. We will have shifts for everyone to work in here for at least an hour, more hours if this is something that you love. The gardeners will teach everybody how to use the tools available and how to grow things." She continued on to the next stop. "This is where the rooms we will be sleeping in are located. It will go by families and couples. There is a small complex where two single people can stay, like roomates or something. Many of these rooms are small, that way we can fit many people in that area. If there is not enough room, we also have rooms on the second floor, and a few down in the lower level for sleeping quarters. Good thing there are three shelters so there is less stress on each one."

"Um...how are we going to move from this place to the next?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, that is taken care of. Below us in the lower level is a Machina that will create an energy barrier. That barrier will allow the shelter to move anywhere in the world! It can even travel through the ocean! Of course, mountains and trees will be unpassable," Telanna explained. We started on again and then paused at the next stop. "This is where everybody shall eat their meals. There is a kitchen behind the counter area. In the kitchen area of this room, there is a staircase that leads to several large rooms on the lower level that is stocked with food."

The shelter began to shake briefly before calming down once again, "What was that?" Ultimaticus asked as he held onto me to keep our balance.

"That was simply the shelter beginning to move," Telanna answered. She walked to the next branch and stopped at it, while we followed her. "This is the meeting hall. If there are any important matters that needs to be addressed, this is the room we shall assemble in." We followed Telanna as she walked to the last stop on the main floor. "And lastly, this is the medical ward. All injuries and illnesses shall be taken care of here."

"Is that thing in the middle of the shelter another lift?" Ultimaticus asked as he looked at the Machina.

"Yes, but that one has glass around it as you can see. That is to make sure nobody falls and harms themselves," Telanna replied.

"I see," was Ultimaticus' response.

"Something is happening in the sky!" shouted a male's voice from above on the bridge. Voices rose around us as people began talking about the possibilities.

"What do you think it is?" I turned to Ultimaticus with that question.

"I think I have an idea," Ultimaticus told me as he looked up at the bridge.


	11. The Crying Moon

A/N: As said in the previous chapter, the story is in what you all know as Balamb Garden from FF8.

Disclaimer: Sarios belongs to me.

**Chapter 11: The Crying Moon**

Ultimaticus and I both exited the lift and ran across the indoor bridge on the second floor. We followed Telanna around the curve of the wall near some rooms. She opened a metal door at the end of the corridor and went outside. Ultimaticus held the same door open for me and I found myself on a balcony.

"There!" Ultimaticus pointed and I looked up to where he was pointing at. The crimson moon appeared to be shedding a bloody tear. I noticed the shelter had been in the ocean far away from the Floating Continent, I could see the continent in the sky. Below us, in the courtyard, a large group of people were looking up at the moon as well.

The tear from the moon began to stretch down and it began to drop to the earth, with a long tail behind it. We all stood outside at least another twenty minutes watching the crimson tear fall from the moon. Suddenly, the tear shot down quickly and it was headed toward the Floating Continent! Something left the continent and headed toward the tear. "What is that?" I asked.

"That is called a missile," Telanna answered from beside me. "It is a weapon that causes much destruction."

The missile travelled up to the sky and it collided with the tear. A large explosion sent some sort of wave of energy in the shape of a ring our way, and it rocked the shelter. I flew backwards and Ultimaticus caught me in his arms as he was thrown into the wall behind him. Everyone outside screamed as the wave of energy hit them.

"Are you alright Snowe?" Ultimaticus asked me as he helped me to stand again.

"Yes," I answered and I heard a booming sound off in the distance. I looked over at the Floating Continent, only to see most of it fall toward the ground below. "Ultimaticus..." I held onto his arm before turning my eyes up to see his face. Ultimaticus was staring at the destruction before us.

"It's gone..." Telanna stated sadly. I turned to look at the last piece of the Floating Continent, which continued moving through the sky despite the rest of it being destroyed on the ground below it.

"The Machina Tower survived," Ultimaticus responded. I saw that the large tower indeed survived and was now standing upright. White columns surrounded the lone building. Monsters surrounded it and some began fighting with the Demons that were near enough to engage in them. "Nothing more we can do..." Ultimaticus quitely replied. He grabbed my shoulders and turned me in the direction of the door.

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"I still cannot believe it," Telanna was telling us as we sat at a table in the meal room later that day.

"Do not worry yourself over it," said an Elvaan man with shoulder-length green hair. "Worrying about the recent events will not make the Floating Continent return. At least, many of us have left before the destruction."

"There were still many who did not leave Sarios," Telanna told him.

"Yes, I know..." Sarios trailed off as he turned his eyes down to the table in front of him.

"Where shall we end up?" I asked.

"The navigator is heading to the town of Baeilg. It is on a small island, which may be perfect for us. At least temporarily," Sarios commented.

"I thought Baeilg was part of the war against Flei?" I asked.

"If they are, I have no idea of it," Sarios replied. He seemed to be thinking of something, then finally asked, "What is the conflict with Flei? We of the Floating Continent have heard of problems between Flei and the other nations, however, we do not know the details."

"Flei is harvesting crystal fragments for their large weapons of destruction," Ultimaticus answered.

"Like the missile they used against the monsters?" asked Telanna as she looked at Ultimaticus.

"Yes, exactly," confirmed Ultimaticus. The conflict between Flei and Salomia have been brewing for many, many years."

"What is the cause for this animosity...I mean the one before the crystal harvesting?" Sarios asked.

"When Salomia was called Magda, some of the Elders wanted to learn the ways of magic. Other Elders wanted to learn about science, so this caused many bickerings and fights to break out. Finally, the people interested in science left Magda and started their own settlement. Eventually, they began harvesting the crystal fragments for their experiments and found that they powered said experiments beyond comprehension. The people of Magda also used crystals to power up their magic...so this naturally caused the cities to break out in war. Each one wanted the crystal fragments for themselves," Ultimaticus explained.

"So..." Telanna started. "This world has a war to deal with, along with Demons and now monsters? Whatever shall we do?"

"Once we get to the town of Baeilg and see what the situation is, we shall come up with some plans to deal with things," Sarios smiled at Telanna.

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A/N: A few of important things here in this chapter. The event with the moon and monsters is called the Lunar Cry, from FF8. The Machina Tower that survived will later be known as the Centra Ruins (where Odin can be gotten) in FF8. The piece of the Floating Continent that the characters watched float away will later become the Chocobo Lagoon place in the sky in FF9 (where you fight Ozma, or whatever that thing's name is lol.) Baeilg is the future Balamb Town.


	12. Baeilg Cavern

A/N: Sorry for not updating in a few months but I was having A LOT of problems typing this chapter. I know how I want the story to go, but just have a bit of trouble getting to that point. To make up for that, I made a little game of this chapter. There are several things in this chapter that come from four Final Fantasy games. Can you name the things and which games they come from?

Disclaimer: Deorn, Feria, Musetta, Arturo and Ewanos are my own original characters.

**Chapter 12: Baeilg Cavern**

We continued on through the thick forest as we made our way to the cavern on the other side. Besides Ultimaticus and myself, there were many others who volunteered for our group. There was a male Elvaan archer with short blonde hair, a male Hume warrior with neck-length brown hair, a female Mithra thief with long red hair, a female Fairy alchemist with her white hair piled on top of her head in a bun and a male Hume alchemist with black hair down to his waist.

"How much longer until we arrive at the cavern?" Deorn, the male Hume warrior asked.

"Just beyond this forest," one of the female Viera with robes, Feria replied. "We shall have to walk about fifteen minutes more to reach it.

"Can we at least rest for awhile?" Deorn asked. "If we must fight anymore monsters once we arrive at the cavern, I will fall from exhaustion."

"Does anyone else feel this way?" the other Viera with robes, Musetta, asked.

"Yes," Arturo, the Elvaan archer, answered. I knew my legs were beginning to burn with the heat of exhaustion.

"Very well, let's stop for a few minutes," Feria suggested.

"What shall we do once we get to the cavern?" I asked as I sat down on a large smooth rock that made a decent bench. Ultimaticus sat beside me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"We will know when we get there," the male Viera named Ewanos replied. His short hair was the color of spun gold.

"Are you _kidding _me?" Deorn asked out of disbelief as he threw his hands up in the air. "Let me try to understand this...we are putting our lives in danger for _no reason at all_?!"

"There _is _a reason," Roaj, yet another male Viera in robes stated. "Our spirit guides never steer us astray."

We sat in silence for a time before we heard a rustling nearby in the bushes. I stood, with Ultimaticus in suit. More rustling sounded and I glanced around to see everyone else standing in their attack positions with their weapons at the ready. I did not know what I was doing here since I do not know how to fight. With Ultimaticus standing beside me though, I felt safe enough. I still stood in anticipation anyway because the rustling was right behind us.

"Stay beside me Snowe," Ultimaticus ordered me.

"Of course," I replied.

More rustling came from the foliage and it sounded closer. Soon, we all saw the bushes sway back and forth. I could hear my heart pound in my ears, I was so frightened. I always became this frightened with facing the danger of the monsters roaming around the land. A small furry thing charged toward me and I screamed as I covered my face. I waited a few seconds but didn't hear the sounds of battle. I slowly uncovered my eyes and studied my surroundings. Everyone was staring at me and I wondered why. "Kupopo," I heard beside me. I turned to look and saw a small, cute animal of some type hovering in the air.

"It's a Moogle!" Roaj exclaimed. "I wonder what it is doing here?"

"Moogles are not from this part of the world," Feria added.

The Moogle moved through the air to hover in front of my face. "Kupo!" it gave a noise full of cheer and it seemed to smile.

"Hello," I greeted as the pounding in my heart slowed down and I became calm once again.

"Kupupu," it said before hovering a little higher in the air and used its tiny wings to hover closer and sit on my left shoulder.

"You are so cute!" I laughed as I ran a finger through its fur.

"Kupo! Kupo!" it did a little bounce and the red ball on top of its head bounced along with it.

"I think it likes you," Deorn grinned.

"Shall we continue?" Musetta interrupted.

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We were a few moments into the cavern and I was miserable. The cavern reminded me of the noon sun high in the sky. If the sun was inside the cavern that is. The heat was unbearable! My skin felt like many thorns were embedded in it. I glanced over at Deorn and Roaj only to see a sheen of moisture covering them. In front of me, Feria held up a hand to halt us. She pointed at something in the distance and I followed her hand. In front of us was a ball of fire, but this fire had a face.

"What is it?" I whispered to Ultimaticus.

"That is the soul of an evil men or women...sad," Musetta answered in a monotone voice, which echoed throughout the cavern. "We must capture the soul in order to do what we must."

Ewanos raised his arm and a frosty mist began to surround his hand. He flicked his wrist and I watched as a cage of ice began to surround the fire soul. Soon, it was encased within the ice and fell to the ground. The fire surrounding the soul grew and the ice shattered. "We must weaken the fiend," Ewanos said as his hand began to form the mist again. The Moogle on my shoulder flew up into the air and I could feel the chill as mist surrounded it as well. The mist from the Moogle travelled within the mist of Ewanos and formed a bigger block of ice around the fire soul.

"Kupo!" the Moogle cheered as it helped Ewanos encase the fiend before us.

"My spirit guide tells me that the fiends we need will all be gathered in one place. Go ahead and defeat the soul before us," Feria ordered.

"Very well," Deorn replied as he unsheathed his sword. Arturo brought his longbow up and aimed for the fiend. "Allow me Arturo." Arturo nodded as he lowered his longbow. Deorn ran over to the fiend and made a slice into the ice, cutting the soul in two. The soul's scream was very frightful as it didn't sound remotely human in any way. I guess the soul wouldn't sound human any longer after it became a fiend.

I followed the others and watched as they felled one fiend after another. They were really good in battle and I wished I could help them in some way. I only came along so I could be with Ultimaticus, I would worry about him if I hadn't. Before I knew it, we were all standing within a large open space with bubbling lava on each side. The heat in this room was much worse than the other parts of the cavern and seeing the orange bursts in the lava didn't help my discomfort any. Our shoes clapped with each step we took in the circular room and I heard Ultimaticus say, "Stay behind me Snowe." I glanced around the room and saw a large panther of some type.

"What is that?" I asked. I saw the auburn fur covering it from head to foot. It let out a deafening roar which caused me to grab hold of Ultimaticus' arm in fear. I buried my face into his shoulder as if to hide from the beast.

"Stay behind me," Ultimaticus repeated. He didn't say what the beast was, but I stood beside him in his protective arm.

"You know what we must do," Musetta turned to the other robed figures in the room. Many of them nodded and they got into a circle around the beast. It lunged at Feria, but it was knocked back by an invisible shield of some sort. It did the same to Musetta but the attack was stopped as well. "Arturo...I want you to shoot an arrow into the pit of fire."

"Into the pit?" Arturo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes...and then run away as fast as you can," Musetta answered. Arturo unhooked his bow from his shoulder, got an arrow from the quiver on his back and aimed toward the lava pit in the back of the room. He shot the arrow into the pit and Musetta yelled, "Go towards the entrance quickly!" Once Arturo saw the pit bubble more violently, he ran over towards Ultimaticus and myself. Deorn was already watching beside us.

"What is going on?" Deorn asked. We all soon got our answer as many fire souls rose up out of the fire pit and charged the Viera, who were chanting in the circle. A couple of them moved out of the fire souls' way and were in the protection of the invisible shield surrounding them. The fire souls were soon in the middle of the circle with the panther and surrounded it. The Viera who broke the circle, rejoined it and resumed their chanting. The fire souls closed in on the panther and I cannot explain what I saw next.

"The fire souls are absorbing into the panther!" Ultimaticus exclaimed. I had no idea what was going on, but soon the panther's body began to grow. I was surprised when the panther grew black horns and it roared in pain. It's claws lengthened and the panther gripped the cavern floor, making deep scratches I could see from the other side of the room. The panther began to rise on its hind legs and stood upright. It was now taller than all of us! It roared again and a small burst of flame left its mouth.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!" it bellowed angrily.

"We have given you more power," Feria explained calmly. "It is necessary for the world we currently live in."

"Our spirit guides told us we must use your help to banish the demons back to Nyu where they belong," Musetta cut in.

"YOU MUST DEFEAT ME IF YOU WISH TO USE MY POWER!" the large panther growled.

"We created you, so you must do what we tell you!" Ewanos argued back.

"ONLY IF YOU DEFEAT ME, YOU SHALL USE MY POWER AS YOU SEE FIT!" the panther replied heatedly before creating a ball of fire in its hand. It threw the ball of fire at Musetta and a red transparent field appeared in front of her. The ball of fire hit the shield and flew the other way. 'YOU SHALL NEVER DEFEAT ME!!! I AM IFRIT THE GOD OF FIRE!!!" The panther, who called himself Ifrit threw another ball of fire at Ewanos and another red shield appeared out of thin air, which made the ball of fire fly back at Ifrit. The fire hit Ifrit and it laughed menacingly.

I heard a noise behind me and I felt something brush against my body. I jumped from surprise and looked down to see what it was. It was the Moogle and it was making a noise like it was scared. It was looking at something and when I followed it's gaze, I yelled out. "What?" I heard Ultimaticus start and I could see him from my side vision turn around. "Snowe, pull the back of my tunic so my wings can get through." Ultimaticus had cut long thin slits in some of his tunics so his wings can easily go through the back. That way he didn't have to take off his top in order to fly. I did as he asked. I seperated each hole and I saw his skin turn red. I could feel the leathery appendixes as they pushed against my hands to get free. Once Ultimaticus was in his demonic form, he flew at the monster...the fire soul and slashed it with his claws. It fell to the ground and it disappeared into little balls of colored light. "Ewanos!" Ultimaticus growled out as he turned his eyes to Ewanos.

"Yes?" Ewanos asked. He turned away from the battle with Ifrit and his eyes widened as he stared at Ultimaticus.

"Get Snowe out of this cavern. It's too dangerous for her here," Ultimaticus said to him before joining Musetta and the others in their battle.

"Come," Ewanos gave me a reassuring smile and I nodded before following him out of the chamber. We both walked quickly toward the exit of the cavern, but not before many battles with the fire souls. I could only watch as Ewanos hacked away with his longsword. I stood a safe distance away from his battles. I was relieved once we emerged from the cavern. The nice breeze kissed my skin with its chill. "We shall wait for the others."

"What if they do not make it out?" I asked as I took my place on the nearby grass.

"I am sure they will emerge victorious," Ewanos gave a little grin. After a few moments, he asked me, "So...your husband is a Demon is he not?"

"Yes," I answered. "He and I have been together many years. He is a really good man, even if he isn't human."

"I sense he is different from the Demons I have come across," Ewanos commented as he jabbed his longsword into the ground before him.

I do not know how much time had passed since we emerged from the cavern, but eventually, Ultimaticus and the others appeared. He was back in the form I was used to seeing everyday "You're alright?" I asked as I stood and ran over to Ultimaticus. He wrapped his arms around my waist and held me.

"I am fine Snowe," he answered. I let my eyes travel up to meet his and saw that he was smiling at me. I gave him a smile of my own and let my head rest on his chest again.

"What happened?" I heard Ewanos ask.

"We were victorious," Musetta answered. Ifrit has joined our forces and will aid us when we summon him."

"Let us go back to the shelter," Deorn interrupted.

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A/N: Remember to read and review! You can put your answer into the review too hehe.


	13. The Planning Stage

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Has anyone guessed the answers to the little game in the last chapter? Don't worry, I'll give the answers next chapter. That way it'll give you plenty of time to guess hehe. There's a bit of spoiler to my fic "A Sorceress and Her Knights" here, but that story is already finished, so maybe you've already read it. Part of this fic will look very familiar to those who have read that story. Can you guess what the reference _really _means? Take a guess. That'd be another little game for you guys.

Disclaimer: Belladonna, Misael and Yucaipo are my characters.

**Chapter 13: The Planning Stage**

"So you were victorious?" an Elder asked our group.

"Yes Elder," Musetta answered. "We have acquired what we need from Baeilg Cavern. We have tied his soul to the place we found him so he may have somewhere to stay as he rests."

"Rest?" the Elder asked.

"Yes," Ewanos continued for Musetta. "He may be a spirit, but in his physical form, he is able to receive damage. Once he goes back to spirit form, he is able to mend what was damaged with energy."

"May we see for ourselves?" a female Elder asked.

"Yes my Elder," Feria answered before she stood still with her hands clasped in front of her. I watched from the side so I could see her eyes close and she bowed her head. Rays of colorful light shone outward from the ground around her and large spheres of light appeared and circled around her body. She disappeared from the circle and Ifrit took her place. I saw another circle of spheres appear behind Ifrit as Feria appeared within it. The spheres disappeared and Feria opened her eyes. I had never seen anything like it before!

"Incredible!" the female Elder exclaimed.

"We are very grateful to you for helping our cause Great One," the male Elder bowed slightly. "You and others like you will have no trouble getting rid of those Demons. They do not belong in our world. Everywhere they go, they wreak havoc and chaos."

"Your services will also benefit us against the monsters that came from the moon," the female Elder told Ifrit. "I'm afraid we humans and other beings simply do not have the strength to defeat these forces on our own. We shall do what we can to honor you Great One. You deserve our praise."

"NONSENSE. THE GROUP YOU HAVE SENT TO CREATE ME ARE CAPABLE OF GREAT POWER. I SIMPLY AGREED TO HELP BECAUSE I WAS DEFEATED BY THEM," Ifrit said in his booming voice.

"What are your plans now?" the Male elder turned to the group of Viera standing behind Ifrit.

"We must seek our spirit guides once more to learn the location of the next spirit concentration. Then we shall see what we can find and create another Guardian," explained Roaj.

"I shall lend my services," the Mithra with long red hair grinned. "My abilities can aid the others in battle." I had forgotten all about the Mithra during our travel to the Baeilg Cavern because she did not talk the whole time we were there. I saw her swift attacks with her knives during battle, but did not really pay much attention other than that. I had also forgetten about the alchemists because they had conversed only with each other during our little adventure when they were busy mixing ingredients into bottles.

"We shall lend our services as well," the Fairy alchemist replied.

"Thank you Belladonna and Yucaipo," the male Elder told them.

"Misael? Shall we go gather more ingredients?" the Fairy alchemist, Belladonna asked the male alchemist.

"Yes," he gave a warm smile and followed her out of the large meeting hall.

"Forgive us Elders, we must go plan our trip," Musetta bowed respectively to the Elders.

"Of course," the male Elder bowed to them.

"You may rest now Ifrit," Feria closed her eyes again and those large spheres circled both her and Ifrit. Ifrit disappeared into tiny colorful light and Feria was now standing in his place.

"Let us go as well Snowe," Ultimaticus told me. I nodded and allowed him to lead me out of the meeting hall. Once out in the main hallway, he and I walked in the direction of the lift. Once there, my vision blurred and everything around me began to spin.

_All of a sudden, I saw many people in strange clothes lined up blocking the entrance to all of the hallways branching off the main hallway. I turned my head right and saw those people in battle against other people in more strange clothes. They seemed to be part of an army or something. They had blue clothes with silver armor for protection. A boy had those large colorful spheres surrounding him before he disappeared and a blue woman took his place. She used some type of magic that looked like ice. I heard the click of hurried footsteps and I turned toward the sound. Running toward me was a girl in a black dress. Her eyes had black surrounding them and she had black lips. But her skin was a creamy white. Her light blue eyes had a look of determination on them as she passed me and ran up to the lift._

"Wait!" I shouted to her. "What is going on?" The girl continued toward the lift and I followed. I managed to get onto the lift before the door closed. She pushed a symbol on the wall and we began to go to the second floor. "Please answer me! What is happening out there?" She tapped her foot nervously but didn't answer me. I observed her as she ran a hand through her long hair. Most of her hair was ebony, but the front of it was white. It gave her a striking beauty. I heard a _**ping **__and the door opened, which made the girl run out. I followed her across the bridge and finally into a room._

_  
I studied my surroundings and there were strange tables in the room we were in. I saw a boy in green clothes standing in front of many children who were huddled together in fear. One of those blue clothed men used a metal pipe to send a little piece of metal toward the boy in green clothes. The girl waved her arm and the piece of metal fly back to the one who shot it and it hit him in the arm. "Watch out!" I screamed at the girl but another man in blue clothes sliced her arm with a sword. She screamed in pain and the man flew backwards in the air and into a wall._

_"NOBODY SAID ANYTHING ABOUT FIGHTING A SORCERESS!!" another man in blue yelled. He brought a black thing to his mouth and continued, "WE NEED BACK-UP!! THE SEEDS HAVE A SORCERESS!!"_

_The girl chuckled and replied, "At least I am not trying to take over the world like the Sorceress you work for!" She began to walk to the blue clothed men and I was about to shout to her to stop before she said, "And you can tell Aunt Edea to stop controlling MY SEIFER!!"_

_"Hey man," one of the other blue clothed men started, "We're right in the middle of a family feud! Let's get out of this while we still can!"_

_"Don't be an idiot!" another one hissed. "Where are we gonna go huh? We're high up in the air!"_

_"We're here!" I heard a voice behind the men. I watched as about ten more jumped in through the broken windows. "Get the Sorceress!"_

_"Get out of here!! Get help!!" The green clothed boy yelled to the kids cowarding behind him. The kids all ran in a group towards the door, as they were leaving, some of the blue clothed men began to run after them. The girl waved her hand and a wall of fire erupted from the floor, blocking the door. I jumped from fear as I stared wide-eyed at the wall of fire. The boy unhooked a chain from his belt._

_"Squall! Go to the 2F classroom. The enemy is coming in from the sky." I heard from above me. I studied the ceiling to figure out where the voice came from. Was this place alive or something?_

_I heard a feminine moan and I turned my eyes back to the others. The boy was laying on the floor and so was the girl. The girl was surrounded by the men. "No! Leave her alone!" I ran to her and kneeled beside her. I went to place hand on her arm, but my hand went right through and touched the floor. I brought my hand up before me and stared at it. I didn't understand what was going on. I tried to touch the girl's arm again, but my hand touched the floor like before._

_"ETERNITY!!" I heard a voice behind me. I stood quickly and turned toward the voice. The boy had blonde hair and black markings on the side of his face. I was in awe as he fought all of the men alone. After they were unconscious, he came toward the girl so I moved out of the way and watched._

_"Zell?" she asked as tears flowed down her cheeks. She held onto the boy she called Zell as she cried into his chest, "I was so...scared," she told him.. She held on tight as she hugged Zell, "How did you know I was in trouble?"_

_"This is gonna sound crazy, but I heard you calling out to me in my head," Zell answered. His answer made her cry even harder. "W-what's wrong?" Zell asked._

_"You're my Knight now!" she cried. It sounded to me like a cry of happiness._

_Zell looked shock, "Really?" he asked and the girl nodded._

_"Squall! Squall! Squall, come up to the bridge. Doctor Kadowaki is here." I turned up to the ceiling again to try and find where the voice was coming from._

_"I don't have any Cure spells," he told the girl sadly. I turned back to the scene before me._

_"All you have to do is manipulate the energy around you...you don't need to draw magic now, remember?" she asked._

_"I haven't been practicing...I'm sorry," he told the girl._

_The girl shook my head and replied, "Just hold me?" Zell nuzzled his face into her hair._

_A new voice sounded from the ceiling above me. A voice of a boy, "...Everybody, this is Squall. How's everyone doing? You're all probably too tired to even stand up after all the fighting. But I want everyone to listen to me...We still have a chance to win, and I need your help. This is going to be our final battle. We're going to attack them before they come in again. To do that, we're going to head straight into their Garden. So I want everyone to prepare for a major collision..."_

_Why were the people in the shelter fighting? I didn't recognize anyone and they were all Humes. Were the Demons attacking them? Were the men in blue clothes helping the Demons? There were so many unanswered questions._

_"Concentrate...focus on me and use my energy to heal me...I know you can do it Zell..." the girl said. I turned back to them and watched Zell gaze into the girl's eyes as his hand held her stomach._

_"...Take care of the junior classmen. Irvine, Quistis, Zell, and Selphie will lead the attack into their Garden. As for everyone else, please support them if you can. SeeD was formed to fight the Sorceress...at least, that's what I heard. And Garden was created to train SeeDs..." The voice known only to me as Squall continued from the ceiling._

_Zell's hand began to glow with a white light. His eyes seemed to glow with a fire from within as an orb formed above the pair and shattered into many pieces. The girl...what did he call her? Eternity? Her wounds began to heal. Soon, she began to sit up on her own, which caused Zell to stand and he helped her up as well. "Come on, we have a fight ahead of us."_

_"You go ahead," Eternity smiled._

_Zell shook his head and replied, "If I'm your Knight, it's my job to make sure you're safe and the only way I can do that is if I'm beside you." Zell took her hand and lead her out of the room._

_The room began to spin like before and my vision also blurred._

"Snowe?" I heard Ultimaticus ask. "Are you alright?"

I studied my surroundings and saw that I was in that same room, but instead of those strange tables, there was a wall lined with beds. I turned my eyes up to the windows, but they were still intact. They were no longer broken. "Where did they go?" I faced Ultimaticus.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"The boy and the girl who was just here? There was also many men in blue clothes here who attacked them," I answered.

"Snowe...you and I are the only two here. Nobody has come or gone since we came in here," he told me with furrowed brows.

"But...Ultimaticus, they were right there!" I pointed to the spot the girl was lying. "What about everyone else?! Are they still fighting below us?!"

"I do not understand...nobody is fighting," he started but I cut him off.

"Of course they are! People with green clothes were fighting men in blue clothes! They were in here," I pointed to the wall in front of me, "and they attacked that girl with ebony hair! Then her...what did she call him?" I gave a pause as I tried to think of anything that would help Ultimaticus understand me. "Her Knight! That's what she called him! A voice called Squall spoke to them from the ceiling!" I pointed up.

Ultimaticus walked behind me, placed his hands on my shoulders and gently pushed me foward, in the direction of the exit of the room. "You need to relax. I believe the excitement from Baeilg Cavern is a bit much for you at the moment."

"You don't believe me?!" I shouted to him as I faced him.

He held both hands up and replied, "All I know is that you began to speak to yourself and then you ran up here. I followed you to make sure you were safe."

"But Ultimaticus! I know their names! The girl with ebony hair was named Eternity and her blonde Knight was named Zell!"

"I'll tell you what?" he turned me back around and gently pushed me again. "I'll ask around about people with those names. Meanwhile, you go and relax in our room."

"A boy had a spirit like Ifrit. He called her and she had blue skin! She used magic in the form of ice!" I tried to argue.

"But we had not found any more of these spirits yet. That is the purpose of this journey we will begin soon...do you believe you can go in this condition?"

I gave a sigh of annoyance. "I am well enough to go. I do not know how long you shall be away. I want to be by your side."

"Very well," he said to me. "Let us go and relax for now. I need you to relax so I can go and prepare things." I nodded but I wasn't happy about it all. Nothing feels worse than having your husband not believe you.


	14. Questions

A/N: Sorry for the long wait for an update, again. This chapter was really difficult. I added only two or three sentences to what I already had many months ago. I decided this would just be a filler chapter.

**Chapter 14: Qustions**

Ultimaticus came back into our room a couple of hours later holding a cup of something. "I brought you some of that apple cider you like," he told me as he sat down on the bed and handed me the cup.

"Thank you." I gave a small pause, "Have you found them?" I asked.

Ultimaticus shook his head and answered, "There is nobody with those names in the shelter."

"But..." I started before I was interrupted.

"You need to rest Snowe."

"But there was a voice called Squall speaking in the ceiling!" I tried to argue.

"Nobody else heard anything Snowe," he told me quietly and calmly. "I believe you are simply over-excited. If you wish to go on that journey with me, you must rest and regain your mind."

"What if I don't?" I asked. I didn't want Ultimaticus to leave me here all alone!

"Then you shall stay here."

"If I stayed, you would stay as well?" I asked.

"You know I cannot do that. The group will be facing Demons and that means I must go and protect them. Many Demons know who I am, so they shall not attack the group if I am with them."

"I cannot stand to bear being here alone," I replied as I took a small sip of cider.

"You shan't be alone Snowe. There are many here."

I looked up at him, "You know what I mean. You shall not be here with me, and I do not know how long you would be gone. I do not want to be here without you."

Ultimaticus grinned before telling me, "In that case, you must get better before I leave so you may go along with us. Please, get some rest. It has been a long day."

"Stay with me?" I asked.

"Of course Snowe," Ultimaticus ran his fingers through my hair as I settled myself to sleep. He then laid down beside me and kissed my cheek. "I love you Snowe."

"I love you too Ultimaticus," I replied before he gave me a peck on the lips.

"Get some sleep. I'll stay with you," he said to me. I settled next to him and closed my eyes.

I woke up and noticed immediately that Ultimaticus was not in the bed with me. I searched the room and saw that I was alone. I was afraid that he had left me alone at the shelter as he went on the journey. I got up and ran my hands through my hair. I decided if he hadn't left, I would search him out, but first I went to the mirror at the vanity to brush my hair to make myself presentable to the rest of the residents at the shelter. I walked over to the vanity, picked up my brush and bent down so I could do a few quick sweeps through my hair. Once I saw my reflection, I paused. My heart quickened its pace as I brought my hand up to my bangs and felt them. I stopped halfway where the white turned back to my natural ebony. I dropped my brush and backed away from the mirror as I stared at my reflection in horror. I didn't realize I was screaming until Ultimaticus burst through the door with a couple of young men behind him.

"Snowe, what is it?" he asked as he grabbed my shoulders.

"Ultimaticus!" I hugged him tightly and sobbed.

Ultimaticus pushed me gently back and looked down at my face with furrowed brows. "Your hair..." he started. "What has happened?"

"I do not know! It was like this when I woke up!" I cried. "What is going on?!"

Ultimaticus only shook his head with his mouth open in shock. "I cannot answer that Snowe. I have never seen anything like this before." That made me sob louder and hang my head down in shame. "But you are still beautiful," he told me as he ran his fingers through my hair and held me tightly to him.

"I am?" I asked.

"I would never lie to you," he replied and hugged me tighter.

"I'm afraid," I whispered and closed my eyes.

"I shall be here with you. You have nothing to be afraid of," he said.

"Why has my hair changed?" I asked.

"I do not know," Ultimaticus told me. "Do not cry over this. There must be an explanation, and we will find it together."

"Do you think the rest of my hair will change this color?" I asked as I held my bangs in front of me.

"I know as much as you do, so I cannot say." I watched him nod to the two young men who came into the room with him, and they both nodded back before leaving, closing the door. "Come. Let us rest." Ultimaticus pulled me over to the bed and gently pushed me down. He got into bed beside me and laid on his side.

"But I want you on top of me," I whined with a little smile.

He maneuvered until he was on top of me, "Now what?" I pushed the back of his head down until his lips met mine. "Mmm," he moaned. "Is this the _only _thing you want?" Ultimaticus asked suggestively.

"I only want to feel your body on top of mine...for now," I answered. "I have a question."

"What troubles you? Besides your hair I mean."

"Do you think the people I saw earlier was a vision?" I asked.

"How do you mean?"

"Do you not see how strange things have been happening lately? I think the wizard's power changed me somehow...what if I saw a vision of the future? The room looked very different from it does now...and that girl..." I gave a pause to go through my thoughts. "That girl I saw...she had the same color hair as me...including the snow-colored bangs."

"We shall figure this out later. Rest now," Ultimaticus ordered sternly. I ran my hand through his hair a few times before he leaned his head down to kiss me again.

"When will the group leave for their journey?" I questioned.

"Tomorrow morning," Ultimaticus told me.

"Please stay with me until then?"

"Of course," he gave me a peck on the lips before he nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck.

Ultimaticus grinned before kissing me passionately.


End file.
